Boot and shoe cleaner



Aug. 6, 1940.

H. C.l GILPIIN BOOT AND SHOE CLEANER Filed Feb. 7, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 LIZ ATTORNEY {Premedemwr g 2,210,365

1 UNITED sTA'res PATENroFFl-CE f Boo'r AND sHoE CLEANER n f e Harry c. Gilpimnummgton, w. va.

Application February 7, 1939, Serial No. 255,114`

' l3 Claims.,v (c1. '1s- 161) f o This Vinventionk relates to a boot and shoe Fig. 3 isla longitudinal sectional View taken cleaning device and it is one object of thejin-rA along thefline'S- of Fig. 1;'v vention to, provide a device of this character Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view takenL which may be set in place in a vestibule or simialong the line ll-Ji of Fig. l.

5 lar location and mud anddirt easily and very 5 is a transverse sectional View taken thoroughly removed from shoes.v along the line 5-5 ofiFg. 1.

Another object of the invention is to provide a Fig. 6 isa sectional view taken along the line device of this character including a base plate tl--B fFig. 1. which is `nnly but removably held in place and Fig. 7 iS a fragmentary sectional View showing lo serves as aV receptacle for catchingv mud and dirt a side brush shifted away from thebottom brush, 10;

` andalso serves as a tray in which the acoumu-v 8 iS a flgfnlena-rvsetiwal View showing lated mud and dirtk may be conveyed to a place the* Sfaler mlllled 119011 17m-hase pil'lst of disposal, y of upon the back of the bottoinbrush'-,

Another object of the invention ig to provide a v Thebase I of this shoe cleaner isforined from 1'.' shoe cleaner wherein brushes for cleaning side a plateof sheet'metal having its marginal pors 16 portions of a shoe aremountedat opposite sides lJOllS benl? upwardly t0 Olifl @Il @Standing Im of a brush for cleaning the bottom of the shoe, 0F Wally 2 Serving lio-retain mud and diri? llpn the the side brushes being yie'ldably held againstbase Plate and thus permit the' 102:55 plate 'G0 @0nmovoment away from the bottom brush @md` stitute a tray. for lcarrying then-lud and dirt to a 20 urged into cleaning engagement with side por-'l' V ons of the Shoa. l under face of the ends vof theibase; plate by screws Another object, of the invention is to prov-ido 154 which may also serve vas securing elements for the cleaner with -a blade or plate for scraping @301mm GUDS 5f rThe@ CAUDS have' glilllg er1- rmud from the bottom of a shoe, ,thesaidscraping gafgemnt With the SUTCeUpOYl Which '0b-@3" TSS place of disposal.' VvStrips 3 are secured acrossthe blade having its upper edge level with bristles of a'lld-my hold the Shoe cleaner in place but 26 the bottom brush and lugs. or ears being propermit the shoe cleaner to be'lifted and accumuvided. at opposite ends of the upper edge of the lated mlldl'f dirt dumped fIOm the b'SC- plate plate for guiding movement of the shoe across Of'tfay'when S0 desfd@ I S0 desired, the VaCllthe plate and also for scraping mud from side CllDS may bev Gllltd and' SCAYG'WS Used v 30 edges of the Shoe sole. V which are of sufcient length to pass through y Another object of the invention is to provide the SLYIJS 3 and engage in the door or other sur a bottom brush having slots formedl therein fa-C UIJGD which the 51133019933? TSSS- l whereby dirt, scraped from a shoe may pass.` Over the base plateifa@ muflted 2l bGlSOm' through the mock or' back' of thebrush and brush. Gandside brushes "l and a scraper y' which A i.nto the pan or base plate .Where it WillbeA held SOYmQd from' 2f plate 0f- Stli Sheet metal and' 35 until dumped. from the pan has itslowerend portion bentfto provide'an at- Another object of the invention is to provide tahlyng 9# T118' a'e'e" may be' SOCuIefl an improved shield for the spring which urges against the under face' of one -end of the back thefside brushes toward the center brush and or blocky Ill of the bottoni kbrush by screws' li 40 also shields for' thel hinges by means of Which Grit may be secured to the base plate by 'bolts i2 f6 the side brushes are pivotally mounted. It will asshown in Figure 3.' In either'case, the scraper thus besseen that the mud and dirt will be-pre will be mounted in a vertical lposition across the vented from clogging the springandl the hinges front endv of the bottoni brush with its upper edge and"v preventing proper movement ofl the side flush. with upper ends ofthe tufts of' ybristles 1 o brushes. vas sln'oWnv iny Figure 2. The tufts of bristles i3 45 Another object of the inventionisto provide are. Aarranged in rowsv lofnltending transversely a shoe cleaner which is simple in construction, across and longitudinally of the bach or block it) strong and durable, and not liable to bev easily and between the longitudinally extending rows oi broken or get out of Working*order.r bristles, the back is formed with slots ll consti'- The invention is illustrated' in the-accom 4tilting passages for' dirt removed from shoes by 50v panying drawingsV wherein: e the bristles of the brmh. I'l'ielefore,'the dirt will Figure 1 is a'top'planview of theshoe cleaner. not accumulate in-'thebrush between the bristles i Fig. 2'1 isa.` sectional vieW- taken longitudinally and clog the brush. Thi'sdirt, and also mudfand throughy the shoecleaner along thev line 2`'-i%v dir-tV scraped from shoes by the sn'raper` il; will of Fig. 1. 7 accumulate in the panv'or `bafsel andy Whena 55? ltufts of bristles I3 gradually increase in height from ends of the bottom brush toward its Inidlength. Therefore, when a shoe is applied to the scraper anddrawn rearwardly across the same, it will move onto the bottom brush with a good rubbing action taking place between the bristles of the brush and the bottom of the shoe and any mud or dirt which is not scraped from the heel and sole of the shoe by the scraper will be removed by the bottom brush. Ears I5 extend outwardly and upwardly from upper corners of the scraper and constitute guides for retaining a shoe in its proper position across the upper edge of the scraper and also serve as cleaning members for scraping mud and dirt from side edges of the sole and heel of a shoe.

In order to mount the bottom brush over the base or pan, there have been provided cross bars or bolsters I6 which rest upon metal strips I'I. Screws I8 pass upwardly through the base and the strips I'I and bolsters I6 into the back of the bottom brush as shown in Figure 4 to firmly se- 0 cure the brush in place and there have also been provided bolts I Swhich in addition to securing thecross bars Iand the strips I'I to the base also serve as means for securing shields upon upper faces of end portions of the cross bars which project from opposite sides of the bottom brush. The cross bars or bolsters not only serve as mounting means for the bottom brush but also serve as spacers for supporting the bottom brush in an elevated position and providing space below this brush so that the dirt can dro-p through the slots I4 onto the base or pan and ow from under the brush when emptying dirt from the pan.

End portions of the strip Il which may be referr-ed to as a hinge strip or leaf project `beyond ends of the bolsters I 6 and are formed with hinge ears 2| with which companion hinge ears 22 at lower ends of hinge strips or leaves. 23 are pivo-tally connected by hinge pins 24. The hinge leaves or strips 23 are secured against outer faces of the backs 25 of the side brushes I by screws 26 and thus mount the side brushes for swinging movement from the normally upright position shown in Figures 4 and 5 toward a deected position away from the bottom brush as shown in Figure 7. The side brushes are to be yieldably held in the upright position and urged back toward this position for cleaning engagement with side portions of a shoe.

In order to do so, there has been provided a helical spring 2l. 'I'his spring is housed in a metal tube 28 serving asa shield for the same and the spring and its shield extend] transversely under the back of the bottom brush midway the length thereof. The upper portion of the tube engages in a groove 2Q formed in the under face of the back of the bottom brush and its lower portion rests in the channel of a saddle plate 3!! which is secured to the'brush back by screws 3l. This tubular shield serves very effectively to retain the spring in its proper position and also as means for preventing dirt from gathering between convolutions of the spring and clogging it. Therefore, the spring may always contract freely and exert pull upon the side brushes to yieldably hold them in anupright position and maintain their` bristles in rubbing engagement with side portions of a shoe when the side brushes are forced outwardly toward a lowered position by a shoe disposed between them upon the bottom brush and the scraper for cleaning of the shoe.

The shields 20 serve to prevent mud and dirt from gathering upon the hinges for the lower ends of the hinge leaves andl preventing easy swinging movement of the side brushes. By having end portions 32 of the tube 28 bent upwardly as sho-wn in Figure 5, end portions of the spring will be deiiected upwardly toward the side brushes to which its ends are secured by the screws 33 and pull upon the side brushes be exerted in such a manner that the side brushes will be held in good rubbing engagement with side portions of a shoe.

It will thus be seen from the foregoing description that I have provided a boot and shoe cleaner that will at all times lbe positive and efficient in carrying out the purposes for which it has been designed and due to its simplicity, it can be readily and easily disassembled whenever any of the parts need replacing. Further, a device of the present character can be manufactured and sold iat a very reasonable cost.

While I have shown the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that various changes in size, shape and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of th appended claims.

Having thus described! the invention, what is claimed is:

l. A shoe cleaner vcomprising a base, a bottom brush mounted horizontally over said base in an elevated position, side brushes normally disposed vertically at opposite sides of said bottom brush and hinged along their lower edges to the bottom brush for swinging movement towards and away from the bottom brush, a tube mounted lagainst the under face of the back of said bottom brush transversely Vthereof with its end portions projecting from sides of the bottom brush and deilected upwardly to `extend diagonally towards the side brushes, and a helical spring passing through said tube with its end portions projecting `from ends of the tube and secured to lower edge portions of backs ofthe side brushes, said spring yieldably resisting swinging `movement of the side brushes away from thev bottom brush and urging the side .brushes inwardly into position for rubbing engagement with a shoe disposed between the side brushes and resting upon the bottom` brush.

2. A shoe cleaner comprising a base, a bottom brush mounted horizontally over said base in an elevated position, side` brushes disposed vertically at o-pposite sides of said bottom brush and extending longitudinally thereof, hinge members carried by said brushes and mounting the side brushes for swinging movement toward andiaway from the botto-m brush, a tube extending under the back of the bottom brush transversely thereof and engaged in a groove formed in the back intermediate its length, a saddle plate secured against the under face of the back of the bottom brush and formed with a channel receiving said tube, said tube having its endportions projecting from sides of the bottom brush and deflected upwardly, `and a spring extending through said tube with its end portions projecting outwardly therefrom and secured to lower portions of said side brushes and exerting inward pull urging the side brushes towards the ybottom brush.

3. A shoe 'cleaner comprising a base, a bottom ybrush over said base, bolsters extending under said bottom brush transversely thereof for supporting the bottom brush in an elevated position relative to the base, hinge strips under said, holsters having their end portions projecting from ends of the bolsters and' formed With hinge ears, side brushes', hinge strips carried by said side brushes with end portions projecting downwardly l0 therefrom and formed with hinge ears pivoted to the hinge ears of the rst hinge strips to mount the side brushes f or vertical swinging movement toward and away from the bottom brush, shields for the hinge Aears carried by the projecting end portions of said holsters, and la spring extending underthe bottom brush with its ends secured to said side brushes and yieldably resisting swinging movement of the side brushes away from the bot- 

